My heart took offence even though I thought those things on a daily basis.
“Their little games are getting so tiresome,” he sighed, pulling his hand away.
I expected him to rise to his feet again, but he didn’t move. Time ticked past and his closeness made my skin prickle. The longer he looked at me, the more I felt him in every part. My bones. My blood. My breath.
His panther slinked to my other side, hemming me in and making my pulse thunder in my ears.
Lucien’s fingertips suddenly brushed my wrist.
My body betrayed me; a small flinch escaped.
He didn’t seem to notice as he leaned closer. So close I could smell him. Cedar and citrus and the bitter bite of blood.
Blood?
I froze.
Had he killed another girl before coming here?
If I opened my eyes, would I see his hands covered in red and ready to spill mine?
“It’s happened again,” he muttered. “The pain is less when I’m near her...”
The panther hmphed, making it seem as if this man and beast actually held a conversation.
“How is shedoingthat?”
The way Lucien spoke to it hinted this wasn’t the first time. The memory of what the other girls had said about him raising it as a pet made it seem as if he’d been living alone for a very long time with nothing but a predator for company.
My heart pinched.
Was that true?
Had he been trapped in this brutally beautiful place for twenty years?
“I should kill her,” he suddenly snarled, making my muscles tense. “Get it over with.” Soaring to his feet, his shadow drenched my body again.
I stopped breathing.
I fought the urge to brace.
How would he do it?
What would Frank and the board of Snowflake Corp think when no one could find me?
Please, be quick.
I hovered on that precipice, waiting for the end to come but...he didn’t strike.
Endless minutes ticked past as if he studied me, judged me, and found me not worth his time.
Finally, he exhaled and backed up. “Ugh, forget it.”
The panther sniffed my shoulder as if assuring itself that I was still alive before padding toward its master.
“I’ll wait to see what game she’s playing. I can always kill her tomorrow.”
The panther huffed.
